The Abduction of the Prefect Badge
by Ryeloza
Summary: Percy and Penelope's first meeting.


A/n: This is an alternate version of how Percy and Penelope might have met. The other version is in my story "Impulsive," which I was rereading beginning to end today and got me thinking about how I could have improved the opening. Anyway, this is just another take on it. You don't have to read my other story to understand this one.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own a damn thing. It's all JK Rowling's.  
  
*****  
Penelope Clearwater had heard tell of the infamous Weasley twins. She knew who they were by sight. But never in her life had she actually spoken to them. After all, she was a whole year older and in Ravenclaw, not Griffindor, so why would she associate with them at all. Still, among the third year Ravenclaws, stories of how Fred and George had blown up something or released a dungbomb or pulled some other particularly interesting and completely inappropriate trick were often an evening tale for the common room. Especially since Alyssa O'Rylie was "hopelessly in love with George Weasley," to which Penelope's response was a roll of the eyes. Though she did agree that all that red hair was quite attractive, Alyssa was hopelessly in love with someone new every month.  
  
It was the end of another year at Hogwarts and Penelope was neither dreading nor looking forward to going home to her muggle family. It was always unbearable being away from magic for months, but part of her couldn't wait to hug her younger sisters and brother. And besides that, this summer would be when she found out whether her younger sister, Persephone, who was eleven, would be attending Hogwarts and, even more importantly, whether Penelope became a prefect. Already she was tingling with excitement, and school hadn't even let out yet.  
  
The week after exams was lulling by in a sleepy, ho-hum fashion so Penelope spent her free time in the library reading for pleasure. Alone. No one else cared to waste the fresh summer outdoors by staying inside. Still, it was quite pleasant and relaxing having some time to herself.  
  
This particular Thursday, however, Penelope found herself wrestled from her solitude by two boisterous red heads. Two red heads who rarely stepped foot in the library. It was quite shocking.  
  
The door opened and Penelope glanced up to see who had come in. Right inside the door, looking left and right for and sign of Madam Pince, who Penelope knew happened to be organizing books, stood Fred and George Weasley.  
  
"Coast clear?" the one on the left asked.  
  
"Seems that way," said the one on the right.  
  
Their faces broke into identical grins and they set out, quietly, toward the back of the library. Penelope watched curiously as the disappeared around a corner and headed toward the restricted section. "Well," she thought, "this will certainly be interesting."  
  
Moments later there came the high pitched shrieking of a book which was promptly silenced and replaced by the noise of two distinct sets of feet running for it. One twin emerged from an aisle near the door, the other skidded to a stop two feet from Penelope. He gaped at her in shock.  
  
"What's going on?" came Madam Pince's voice. "Who's in the restricted section?"  
  
"Oi! Fred," hissed the twin by the door. "Come on!"  
  
Fred glanced at his brother then turned and grinned at Penelope. "You'd better run for it," she said softly. If she became prefect it was probably the last time she'd really be able to give someone leeway to get away with something like this.  
  
"Oh," Fred whispered. "I am." Madam Pince's footsteps were sounding off in the distance, each click of her boots sealing the Weasley twins' fate.  
  
Suddenly George appeared at Fred's side. "Oh," he said. He looked at Fred. "Well then, on three?" Fred nodded.  
  
"One," George began softly. "Two. . ."  
  
Penelope sighed, "You really ought to be-"  
  
"Three!"  
  
Two pairs of freckled hands reached out and grabbed Penelope's arms, pulling her out of her chair and dragging her away.  
  
"What're you doing?" she demanded quite loudly. She put up a struggle, but despite their stocky appearance Fred and George were remarkably strong. "It must be the Quidditch," she thought absently. Her wand was buried too deeply in her robes to retrieve, now that her arms were entangled in the grips of two boys.  
  
Before Penelope even really knew what was happening, she, Fred, and George were all in the hallway and the twins were escorting her around a corner.  
  
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" she growled, now extremely peeved. These two seemed to be entirely off their rockers.  
  
"Shut it!" said George. "You're a witness-"  
  
"-to our crime," Fred ended.  
  
"We needed to get you away from there before you went and blabbed to Madam Pince."  
  
"For your information, I was going to "blab" anything, you gits!"  
  
"Come now," said Fred. "That's no way for a prefect to behave."  
  
Penelope glared at him. "I'm NOT a prefect!" she shouted. "At least not yet!"  
  
They stopped abruptly and looked at one another. Without a word George leaned over and stared right at her robes, probing them for signs of a prefect badge.  
  
"Oi, Fred. She's telling the truth."  
  
"Damn. Why'd we even bother kidnapping her then?"  
  
"Don't know," said George. "But seeing as she's not a prefect we could enact our other plan for the day."  
  
"You think?"  
  
George nodded. "She wants to be a prefect, after all."  
  
Fred grinned.  
  
George grinned.  
  
Penelope frowned.  
  
The next thing she knew there was a flurry of arms and robes and then running down the hall were the two identical red heads. Penelope sighed and shook her head. Whatever those two were cooking up, she certainly didn't think she wanted to be a part of it. Without waiting another moment, in case they should return, Penelope headed back to the library.  
  
Upon entering a rather angry conversation filled her ears.  
  
"Are you sure you haven't seen them?" a boy was demanding. He, surprisingly, had red hair just like the twins, though he was significantly taller. Penelope stood at the door surveying him.  
  
"No, Mr. Weasley-" so he was their brother, she realized, "-I have not seen either Fred or George recently, although I am willing to wager it was the two of them in the restricted section minutes ago." Madam Pince glanced at her. "Ah, Miss Clearwater," she said. "Did you see the Weasley twins in here a moment ago?"  
  
Penelope's stomach dropped a bit. She hadn't wanted to tell on the twins, even after their excursion in the hallway. It seemed, however, unless she told an outright lie, they were going to have one last detention before the year ended.  
  
"Well-" she began.  
  
"What in Merlin's name are you doing with my prefect badge?!" the twins' brother interrupted her. Penelope furrowed her eyebrows at him.  
  
"What are you talking about? I don't have your prefect badge!"  
  
With a gleam in his eye the boy approached her and pointed his long finger at her chest. Penelope glanced down and to her utter amazement, there, pinned to her robes, was a prefect badge.  
  
She gasped. "I-I don't know how this got here!" she protested. "It must have been your brothers, they were in here Madam Pince-"  
  
"So," said the Weasley prefect accusingly, "you're in cahoots with my brothers. Well then, it explains how you got my badge!"  
  
Penelope felt her temper rise. "For your information," she seethed, "I never even met your brothers until they abducted me from the library today! And from what I've heard, and now witnessed, they're both extremely talented pranksters. I'd think you'd know that, being their brother and all!"  
  
And without another word, Penelope unpinned the badge and shoved it into Percy's hand, turning on her heal and leaving the library.  
~*~*~*~*  
Two days later Penelope returned to the library to find the prefect sitting at her usual table reading a book. She glared at his bent head as he pushed his falling glasses up his nose. "What a twit," she thought. Crossing the room, Penelope took a seat at the next table and promptly pulled out a book, trying to consume herself in it. But it was impossible. Just the boy's presence was nibbling on her mind.  
  
Distracted by the gnawing thoughts of the attractive, but apparently pretentious, prefect, Penelope didn't notice him sit down across from her until he cleared his throat.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked, slightly chastising herself for being so rude. Maybe it wasn't his fault that he was so accusatory yesterday.  
  
"Well-um-" he said. "I guess. . .I guess I just want to apologize for being such a prat yesterday. Sometimes, especially when it's matters involving the twins, I just lose my head. They drive me nutters a lot of the time."  
  
Penelope smiled slightly. "I could see how that could be."  
  
He nodded in grim agreement. "So, do you forgive me?"  
  
Penelope nodded. "Yes," she said. "And I'm sorry too, for snapping. Anyone can have a bad day sometimes."  
  
"Of course," he said. He stuck out his hand. "Percy Weasley."  
  
Penelope smiled and dropped her book on the table. She met his hand in a firm shake. "Penelope Clearwater," she said. "Pleased to me you."  
  
Percy smiled.  
*****  
A/n: Wow. Penelope's point of view was a fun change. Hehe. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Feedback is welcomed with a big smile. Thanks for reading.  
  
~Katie 


End file.
